ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Vice President's Secretariat
Vice President celebrates International Mother Language Day in a unique manner
Vice President tweets in 22 Indian languages and writes articles in 24 vernacular newspapers on the need to promote mother tongues
Participates in three events organized to celebrate the Day
The Vice President, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu celebrated the International Mother Language Day today in a unique manner by tweeting in 22 Indian languages and English, apart from writing articles in 24 vernacular newspapers across the country on the importance of promoting one’s mother tongue.
The Vice President, who is known as a champion of promoting mother languages, in his tweets, said that linguistic diversity has always been one of the foundational pillars of our civilization. “More than just a means of communication, our mother languages connect us with our heritage and define our socio-cultural identity,” Shri Naidu added.
Calling for increased use of mother tongue in all spheres—from primary education to governance, the Vice President in his tweet said: “We must encourage the creative expression of our thoughts and ideas in our own languages!”.
Shri Naidu posted the tweets in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Gujarati, Kashmiri, Konkani, Marathi, Odia, Urdu, Malayalam, Kannada, Odia, Punjabi, Nepali, Assamese, Bengali, Manipuri, Bodo, Santhali, Maithli, Dogri and Sanskrit.
The articles penned by the Vice President were published in the Times of India  and 24 other Indian language newspapers including: Dainik Jagran , Eenadu , Dina Thanthi , Lokmat , Samaj , Siasat , Aadab Telangana , Asomiya Pratidin , Nav Bharat Times , Matrubhumi , Divya Bhaskar , Bartaman , Bhaangar Bhuin , Hayenni Radab , Santhal Express , Himali Bela , Hamro Varta , Dainik Mirmirey , Hamro Praja Shakti , Hindu , Joti Dogri , Daily Kahwat , Daily Sangarmal  and Sudharma .
Shri Naidu also virtually participated in a webinar, organized jointly by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Culture to celebrate International Mother Languages Day. He was also the Chief Guest at a programme organised on the occasion by Swarna Bharat Trust, Hyderabad on this occasion. Later, he will also be virtually attending “Mathrubhashobhava” being organized by the Telugu Association of North America.
Prior to this, on 16th February, 2021, the Vice President had also written to 771 Members of both Houses of the Parliament urging them to promote the mother tongue.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
COVID-19 UPDATE
115.23 cr vaccine doses have been administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive
Recovery Rate currently at 98.28%; Highest since March 2020
12,789 recoveries in the last 24 hours increases Total Recoveries to 3,38,97,921
11,106 new cases in the last 24 hours
India's Active caseload stands at 1,26,620
Active cases account for less than 1% of total cases, currently at 0.37%; Lowest since March 2020
Daily positivity rate  less than 2% for last 46 days
Weekly Positivity Rate  less than 2% for last 56 days
62.93 cr Total Tests conducted so far
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Saudi Arabian Business Delegation Calls on Suresh Prabhu
Commerce Minster meeting Saudi Arabian business delegation
Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, met a Saudi business delegation in New Delhi today. The Saudi delegation was led by KamelS.Al-Munajjed, Chairman of Saudi Indian Business Council.
During the discussions Commerce Minster said that India’s energy security is ensured due to the continuous and uninterrupted supply of petroleum products from Saudi Arabia. But now it is time for both the countries to go beyond petroleum and diversify into new products, businesses and regions.
Suresh Prabhu further said that opportunities are endless for both the countries to collaborate and work together in new regions like Africa. Both Saudi Arabia and India have to now look beyond the Gulf region and explore new markets.
Commerce Minister welcomed Saudi investment in businesses like medical implants, agro- processing, education and other sunrise sectors and stated that this will not only help India but also benefit Saudi Arabia in expanding business opportunities.
Suresh Prabhu informed that India too is looking to invest in Saudi Arabia so that the relations between the two nations are taken to a new heights. For this 8 working groups have been set-up to identify companies in Saudi Arabia and India who can work together. Suresh Prabhufurther said that to resolve any issues for Saudi business and investments the Commerce and Industry Ministry has put in place a fast track mechanism to deal with any issues through a single window.
The Saudi business delegation informed Commerce Minster that there is a need to prioritise the SME industries of both countries as they are the future of both economies and SMEs will lead to employment generation.
The Saudi delegation consisted of members with interests in IT, logistics, communications, health and waste management.
Saudi Arabia today is India’s 4th largest trade partner  and is a major source of energy. India imports around 17 % of our crude oil requirement from the Kingdom. In 2017-18, the India-Saudi bilateral trade has increased by 9.56 % to USD 27.48 billion. During this period, our imports from Saudi Arabia reached USD 22.06 billion, registering a increase of 10.50 % over previous year  whereas our exports to Saudi Arabia reached USD 5.41 billion registering an increase of 5.88 % over previous year . The current bilateral trade  is valued USD 19.64 billion.
The business and visit visa fees for the Indian nationals were decreased and fixed on reciprocal terms. Saudi Arabia is the 15th largest market in the world for Indian exports and is destination to 1.85%  of India’s global exports. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is the 3rd largest source  of India’s global imports. For Saudi Arabia, as per 2017 data, India is the 4th largest market for its exports, accounting for 8.88 % of its global exports. In terms of imports by Saudi Arabia, India ranks 7th and is source of around 4.13 % of Saudi Arabia’s total imports.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Dr. Harsh Vardhan chairs Tuberculosis  Mukt Bharat Partner Meeting
Fight against TB and COVID-19 go hand in hand: Dr. Harsh Vardhan
“Media personalities could be made TB crusaders; Institutionalized mechanism to be put in place to share best practices for the fight against TB”
India will be able to eradicate TB by 2025 as envisaged by Hon’ble Prime Minister, if we put our Mind, Heart and Soul together- Dr. Harsh Vardhan
Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Hon’ble Minister of Health & Family Welfare, today chaired Tuberculosis  Mukt Bharat meeting with various Development Partners of the Health Ministry through video conferencing, from here today. It was the 4th meeting chaired by the Union Health Minister for reviewing the progress in the fight against TB.
Speaking at the meeting, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that the media, especially Doordarshan, had played a crucial role in the eradication of polio in the country. On the similar lines, journalists and media personalities should be made TB crusaders to create awareness amongst the people. He expressed the need to develop an institutionalised mechanism to share the best practices, experiences and ideas used in the fight against TB. He emphasised upon the importance of leadership and community involvement, proposing that religious leaders, leaders of auto unions etc. can be roped in to create awareness against TB. He said that there is a need to develop prototypes and clear strategies for 5 states having high TB caseload. These states are Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh and Telangana.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan expressed satisfaction over the efforts being made by various developmental partners and said that “together we are proceeding in the right direction”. He said that the fight against COVID and TB have to go hand in hand. He expressed hope that India will be able to eradicate TB by 2025 as envisaged by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, if we put our mind, heart and soul together to eliminate TB.
Expressing satisfaction over the progress made by the country in the fight against TB, Minister of State, MoHFW, Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey said that a Jan Andolan is required to eradicate TB. He underlined the need to have a grass root level visits in villages and slums, fully equipped with testing machines and other services to help people.
Shri Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, MoHFW expressed the need to involve the Corporate sector and Community in the fight against TB. He suggested micro-planning, on the lines of COVID vaccination strategy for TB in states with high TB caseload. He further emphasised on the need for active collaboration between Government and Developmental partners.
Senior Officials of the Ministry, WHO representative to India, representatives of various Development Partners, NGOs and State representatives also attended the meeting.
Ministry of Finance
CBIC to launch “E-Lecture Series by Eminent Personalities on topics of national interest and indirect taxation” tomorrow
RBI Governor Shri Shaktikanta Das to give Opening Lecture on “Indian Businesses ”
As part of celebrations of “ICONIC Week”, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs  is launching “E-Lecture Series by Eminent Personalities” tomorrow. The Ministry of Finance is celebrating the “ICONIC Week” from June 6th to 12th as part of the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav'  celebrations to mark the 75th year of India’s Independence. These celebrations were kick started by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi in New Delhi on 06th June, 2022.
Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor, RBI, will be delivering the Opening Lecture on “Indian Businesses ” at Yashwantrao Chavan Centre, Nariman Point, Mumbai on 9th June, 2022. The lecture will be attended by Shri Tarun Bajaj, Secretary, Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India; Shri Vivek Johri, Chairman, CBIC, besides other members of CBIC.
Weblink of e-Lecture series: https://youtu.be/Mqxaoe_dJRI
The event is being hosted by the CBIC Chairman and organised by Mumbai Customs Zone-I. The event is also being attended by leading personalities of trade, industry and senior officials of Centre and State Govt. The event will be live steamed via the Internet on the CBIC YouTube Channel and the CBIC Facebook Page.
Ministry of Defence
Raksha Mantri approves establishment of a new Defence Estates Circle for Uttarakhand
Raksha Mantri has approved the proposal for creation of a new Defence Estates Circle exclusively for Uttarakhand on May 26, 2022. In view of the difficulties faced in managing large tracts of defence land in the State and demand of residents of Cantonments located in Uttrakhand, MoD will establish an independent office of Defence Estates at Dehradun and a sub-office at Ranikhet.
The creation of a new Defence Estates Circle at Dehradun exclusively for Uttrakhand will facilitate the residents/ organizations in getting timely and quick access to various services of defence land management. In order to further decentralize the governance structure, Raksha Mantri has also approved establishment of a sub-office at Ranikhet under the administrative jurisdiction of Defence Estates Dehradun to deal exclusively with 6 districts of Kumaon region of the State.
Earlier the entire defence land and Cantonments in Uttrakhand were covered under two distinct Defence Estates Circles headquartered at Meerut and Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. These offices being distantly located posed various functional problems by causing delays and difficulties to Cantonment residents of Uttrakhand in getting timely and prompt redressal of their grievances, apart from managing of defence lands located in far and remote areas in the State. The Armed Forces also faced problems in land acquisitions, survey & demarcation of defence land and handling of litigation matters.
The establishment of the new Defence Estates Circle for Uttarakhand is a huge step forward in bringing the Government closer to the people in keeping with the objective of ‘ease of living’ and ‘ease of doing business’.
Ministry of Home Affairs
Development Works in J&K
The Government is fully committed for the overall development of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and has taken several steps in this regard which include:
- Accelerating implementation of the Prime Minister's Development Package  that was announced on 7thNovember 2015 at a cost of Rs 80,068 crore. Out of 63 projects pertaining to 15 Ministries, 54 projects are being implemented in Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir at a cost of Rs.58,627crore and the remaining in the Union Territory of Ladakh. These include projects relating to Road, Power, Health, Education, Tourism, Agriculture, rehabilitation schemes for Kashmiri migrants, Skill development sectors etc. Out of 54 projects, 20 projects are completed /substantially completed, and remaining 34 projects are at various stages of implementation.
- Government of Jammu & Kashmir has set-up Jammu & Kashmir Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation  to raise loans up to Rs. 8,000 crore for completion of nearly 6,000 projects that were languishing for years. 2,367 such projects have been approved with an amount of Rs. 7125.49 crore and 800 projects worth Rs.997.27 crore have already been completed.
- All the flagship schemes of the Government of India including individual beneficiary centric schemes are also being proactively implemented in UT of J&K.
- The Central Government has approved a new Central Sector Scheme for Industrial development of Jammu and Kashmir with an outlay of Rs. 28,400 Crore to boost industrial activity while nurturing existing industries as well.
- For setting up of new Industrial Estates in J&K, the Government of Jammu & Kashmir has created a Land Bank of 29,030 kanals during 2020-21.
- The Government of Jammu and Kashmir has approved business revival package of Rs. 1,352.99 Crore on 25th September, 2020 etc.
In addition to the above efforts, initiatives have also been taken by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir for the development of Tourism, Arts and Crafts Sectors, which include:
- The new Wool Processing, Handicrafts and Handloom Policy, 2020 has been adopted for promotion and development of Handicrafts and Handloom sector.
- The Government of Jammu and Kashmir has approved a new Financial Support Scheme for each Cooperative/Self Help Group in the Handicrafts and Handloom Sector.
- The Government of Jammu and Kashmir has approved a new Credit Card Scheme for providing a loan to Artisans/Weavers with interest subvention of 7% for five years.
- MoU has been signed under ‘Samarth Programme’ to promote online sale of genuine Handloom and Handicrafts products directly by Artisans/Weavers.
- Under the Central Sector Scheme ‘PRASAD’, construction of tourist interpretation centre at Dargah Hazratbal has been completed.
Jammu Ropeway has been completed and Phase-II of Jammu Ropeway from Mahamaya to Baghe-Bahu section has also been commissioned.
This was stated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri G.Kishan Reddy in a written reply to question in the Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Delhi’s overall Air quality expected to improve in coming days
Today at 4 PM, Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index  clocked 254 as per the Daily AQI Bulletin of Central Pollution Control Board  as against 162 at 4PM on 15.05.2023, i.e. an increase of 92 index value. The Sub-Committee for invoking actions under the Graded Response Action Plan  of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR & Adjoining Areas  met today to take stock of the current air quality scenario of Delhi-NCR and also assess technical as well as expert inputs related to overall air quality of Delhi-NCR put forward by IITM/ IMD.
While reviewing the air quality scenario in the region, it was informed by the India Meteorological Department  that, “Dust raising strong winds flowing across Haryana and Delhi since early morning of 16.05.2023 increased particulate matter concentration significantly. Winds from Northwest/ West directions blew with an average wind speed 06-18 kmph also with gusty winds . The PM10 concentration at 4AM was 141 micro-g/m3 and increased to 796 micro-g/m3 at 7AM. The strong winds are likely to continue on 16.05.2023 and 17.05.2023”.
Considering this, the Sub-Committee for GRAP, after comprehensively reviewing the air quality scenario noted this to be an exceptional episodic event which has led to continual dispersion of dust in the ambient air over entire Delhi-NCR and is likely to improve in 1-2 days, with rain also expected on 18.05.2023.
The Sub-Committee shall be keeping a close watch on the situation in the days to come and will review the air quality scenario of Delhi-NCR accordingly.
Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises
KVIC Distributes 1000 Bee Boxes in Arunachal Pradesh
Khadi and Village Industries Commission  has been continuously working to empower the farmers of North East region to help them earn an additional income through various schemes under the aegis of Ministry of MSME. Shri VK Saxena, Chairman KVIC distributed 1000 bee boxes to 100 farmers in the presence of Shri Tage Taki, Chairman Arunachal Khadi Board and few other dignitaries.
Highlighting the importance of Honey Mission program of KVIC, Shri V.K. Saxena, said, “Arunachal Pradesh has abundance of Flora and Fauna, and has the untapped potential of becoming a truly honey producing state. High altitude honey is rich in antioxidants and hence can be sold at a premium price”.
“Not only honey, but products such as pollen, propolis, royal jelly and bee venom are also marketable and can greatly help the farmers who otherwise migrate to cities for menial labor. As per a recent report, India has a potential of about 200 million bee colonies as against 3.4 million bee colonies today. Increasing the number of bee colonies will not only increase the production of bee-related products but will also boost overall agricultural and horticultural productivity in the region”, Saxena said.
It is quite noticeable that KVIC has distributed around 30,000 bee boxes in the North East alone since 2017, thus generating an additional employment in honey production for around 3000 educated but unemployed farmers. This year KVIC plans to distribute around 2,500 bee boxes in Arunachal Pradesh while it targets to distribute around 10,000 bee boxes in the next year.
For the first time since 1960’s KVIC has also registered 2 new Khadi Institutions-Youth for Social Welfare, Tawang and Rural Development Society, Papum Pare for promotion of Khadi Artisans in the region.
Ministry of Jal Shakti
Protection of farmers’ interests and developing Agriculture sector is top priority of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi led Government – Shri Rattan Lal Kataria
The Minister of State for Jal Shakti and Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri Rattan Lal Kataria today expressed happiness at the significant increase in MSP or minimum support prices of Rabi crop that have been recently announced by the Union Government. Shri Kataria said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given a clear message that the protection of interests of farmers is top priority of the Government. Shri Kataria said that MSP system and Agriculture Produce Market Committee  Act will remain completely unaffected by the farmer’s product trade and commerce  bill, 2020 and APMCs will continue to work as earlier. He said that the bill allows additional trade outside the APMC complex and farmers can enter into direct agreement for the sale of their produce which will benefit both consumers and farmers by reducing costs and saving time of farmers thereby increasing their income.
The Minister of State highlighted the fact that farmers will have the facility of crop price guarantee by agreement under farmers  price guarantee and agriculture tax contract bill, 2020 which even has penalty provision in case of non-payment of price due to any reason. Every trader will have to make payment to farmers on the same day or within amaximum of three days time. Simultaneously, the bill has no bearing on MSP. The bill provides farmers such a grievance redressal mechanism where farmers can go to SDM in any dispute. In case of any arrear, no action will be taken on farmer’s land.
Shri Rattan Lal Kataria further said that by passage of these bills, the market for the agriculture sector will expand substantially andnew opportunities for industries will emerge. Farmers will contact the agro industry directly,diversification of crops will be promoted and possibility of increase in market prices of agro products will always remain. As a result of all these interlinked activities, agriculture sector could take a form of business.Shri Kataria alsosaid that PM ShriNarendraModi is implementing schemes in a phased manner to double the income of farmers. Developing agro sector and protection of interest of farmers is priority of the government. Work has been done on grass root level in this direction. Farmer’s organizations have complete faith in PM Modi's policies.
PIB Headquarters
Interactive sessions for theprospective entrepreneurs by Oil Marketing Companies on 10th January
Oil marketing Companies  have invited Expression of Interest for procurement of Bio-Diesel manufactured from Used Cooking Oil. EOI has been floated across 200cities in India.
OMC organizing Interactive sessions for the prospective entrepreneurs at Taj Banjara - Mehfil Majlis Banquet Hall ,Road no 1, Mithila Nagar , Banjara Hills, Hyderabad Telangana on Friday January 10th,2020 at 10:00 hrs to provide understanding on this EOI. All Interested Entrepreneurs wish to attend may send email to sray@hpcl.in and may attend the meeting
PIB Headquarters
PIB’S BULLETIN ON COVID-19
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- 187.95 cr vaccine doses have been administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive
- India's Active caseload currently stands at 15,636
- Active cases stand at 0.04%
- Recovery Rate currently at 98.75%
- 1,970 recoveries in the last 24 hours increases Total Recoveries to 4,25,23,311
- 2,483 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours
- Daily positivity rate 
- Weekly Positivity Rate 
- 83.54 cr Total Tests conducted so far; 4,49,197 tests conducted in the last 24 hours
#Unite2FightCorona #IndiaFightsCorona
Press Information Bureau
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Government of India
Ministry of Railways
Integral Coach Factory produces 3000 Coaches in record 215 days
Displaying dedication and efficiency, Integral Coach Factory  of Indian Railways has produced its 3000th coach of the year in less than 9 months. This would help in meeting the growing demand for coaches. The number of working days to achieve the above figure has been reduced from 289 days in the last year to 215 days in the current year, a reduction of 25.6%. Till the year 2014, the same amount of time was being taken for the production of only 1000 coaches.